Initiation of wireless service

ABSTRACT

Disclosed are various embodiments for implementing wireless service for a wireless device. In a representative embodiment, a service initiation system is executed in a computing device that communicates with a service provider system over a network to activate a wireless service associated with a newly purchased wireless device. The service initiation system also generates a network page to send to a client over the network, where the network page has a component that initiates a porting of a contact designation associated with a prior wireless device to the newly purchased wireless device separate from the activation of the wireless service for the newly purchased wireless device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S.application Ser. No. 13/849,007, filed Mar. 22, 2013, entitled“Initiation of Wireless Service,” which is a continuation of and claimspriority to U.S. application Ser. No. 13/618,872, filed Sep. 14, 2012,entitled “Initiation of Wireless Service,” now issued as U.S. Pat. No.8,423,061, which is a division of and claims priority to U.S.application Ser. No. 12/771,709, filed Apr. 30, 2010, entitled“Initiation of Wireless Service,” now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,364,146,which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety theirentireties.

BACKGROUND

The purchase of wireless devices such as cellular telephones can betechnologically difficult to achieve over the Internet due to the factthat service needs to be activated for a wireless device and often atelephone number needs to be ported from a previously existing cellulartelephone. For example, users may often wish to delay the porting of atelephone number until they are able to transfer contact information andother data from their old cellular telephone.

This application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S.application Ser. No. 13,618,872, filed Sep. 14, 2012, entitled“Initiation of Wireless Service,” now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,423,061,which is a division of and claims priority to U.S. application Ser. No.12/771,709, filed Apr. 30, 2010, entitled “Initiation of WirelessService,” now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,364,146, which is are herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety their entireties.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Many aspects of the present disclosure can be better understood withreference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings arenot necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearlyillustrating the principles of the disclosure. Moreover, in thedrawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding partsthroughout the several views.

FIG. 1 is a drawing of a networked environment according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a drawing of an example of a network page rendered by a clientin the networked environment of FIG. 1 according to various embodimentsof the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a drawing of another example of a network page rendered by aclient in the networked environment of FIG. 1 according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a drawing of yet another example of a network page rendered bya client in the networked environment of FIG. 1 according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating one example of functionalityimplemented as portions of a service initiation application executed inat least one computing device in the networked environment of FIG. 1according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating another example of functionalityimplemented as portions of a service initiation application executed inat least one computing device in the networked environment of FIG. 1according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating yet another example of functionalityimplemented as portions of a service initiation application executed inat least one computing device in the networked environment of FIG. 1according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a schematic block diagram that provides one exampleillustration of a computing device employed in the networked environmentof FIG. 1 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following discussion, various systems and methods are describedto achieve the porting of a contact designation such as a telephonenumber for a newly purchased wireless device separate from theactivation of service for such device. Specifically, a customer defineddelay may be imposed between activation of service and the porting of acontact designation as will be described. In the following discussion, ageneral description of the system and its components is provided,followed by a discussion of the operation of the same.

With reference to FIG. 1, shown is a networked environment 100 accordingto various embodiments. The networked environment 100 includes one ormore computing devices 103, one or more client devices 106, and aplurality of carrier servers 109, each of which is coupled to a network113. The network 113 includes, for example, the Internet, intranets,extranets, wide area networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), wirednetworks, wireless networks, or other suitable networks, etc., or anycombination of two or more such networks.

The computing device(s) 103 may comprise, for example, a server computeror any other system providing computing capability. Alternatively, aplurality of computing devices 103 may be employed that are arranged,for example, in one or more server banks or computer banks or otherarrangements. For example, a plurality of computing devices 103 togethermay comprise, for example, a cloud computing resource, a grid computingresource, and/or any other distributed computing arrangement. Suchcomputing devices 103 may be located in a single installation or may bedispersed among many different geographical locations. In oneembodiment, the computing device 103 represents a virtualized computersystem executing on one or more physical computing systems. For purposesof convenience, the computing device 103 is referred to herein in thesingular. Even though the computing device 103 is referred to in thesingular, it is understood that a plurality of computing devices 103 maybe employed in the various arrangements as described above.

Various applications and/or other functionality may be executed in thecomputing device 103 according to various embodiments. Also, variousdata is stored in a data store 116 that is accessible to the computingdevice 103. The data store 116 may be representative of a plurality ofdata stores as can be appreciated. The data stored in the data store116, for example, is associated with the operation of the variousapplications and/or functional entities described below.

The components executed on the computing device 103 include, forexample, an electronic commerce system 119 and other systems,applications, services, processes, engines, or functionality notdiscussed in detail herein. The electronic commerce system 119 isexecuted in order to facilitate the online purchase of items such as,for example, wireless devices 123 over the network 113. Such wirelessdevices 123 may comprise, for example, personal digital assistants,cellular telephones, computers, and other devices. However, it isunderstood that the electronic commerce system 119 may ultimatelyfacilitate the purchase of any type of item. The electronic commercesystem 119 also performs various backend functions associated with theonline presence of a merchant in order to facilitate the online purchaseof items as will be described. For example, the electronic commercesystem 119 generates network pages 126 such as web pages or other typesof network content that are provided to client devices 106 in responseto requests for the purposes of selecting items for purchase, rental,download, lease, or other form of consumption and to perform other tasksas will be described. Among other applications, the electronic commercesystem 119 includes a service initiation application 129 that isexecuted in order to establish service for a wireless device 123 as willbe described.

The data stored in the data store 116 includes, for example, a catalog133 that includes a listing of various items such as, for example,wireless devices 123, and potentially other data. In addition, thecatalog 133 includes a listing of service plans 136 that may be sold inassociation with respective ones of the wireless devices 123. Theservice plans 136 are offered by various service providers. For example,a service plan 136 may involve wireless service for a wireless device123. In one embodiment, a wireless device 123 may be sold in associationwith a given service plan 136 as a package deal, or they may be soldseparately. Ultimately, once a wireless device 123 and a service plan136 are sold, a user may activate the wireless service for a wirelessdevice 123 through various network pages 126 served up by the serviceinitiation application 129 as will be described.

Also stored in the data store 116 are customer accounts 139 that includevarious information associated with customers that purchase itemsthrough the electronic commerce system 119. Such information may includecustomer name, shipping addresses, billing addresses, paymentinstruments, shopping carts, wish lists, and other informationassociated with customers as can be appreciated.

The client device 106 is representative of a plurality of client devices106 that may be coupled to the network 113. The client device 106 maycomprise, for example, a processor-based system such as a computersystem. Such a computer system may be embodied in the form of a desktopcomputer, a laptop computer, a personal digital assistant, a cellulartelephone, set-top box, music players, web pads, tablet computersystems, or other devices with like capability. The client device 106includes a display device 141 upon which various network pages 126 andother content may be rendered.

The client device 106 may be configured to execute various applicationssuch as a browser application 143 and/or other applications. The browserapplication 143 may be executed in a client device 106, for example, toaccess and render network pages 126, such as web pages, or other networkcontent served up by the computing device 103 and/or other servers. Theclient device 106 may be configured to execute applications beyondbrowser application 143 such as, for example, email applications,instant message applications, and/or other applications.

In addition, each of the carrier servers 109 is operated by a servicecarrier so as to provide service, for example, to a wireless device 123in accordance with a service plan 136 purchased by the customer. Eachcarrier operates, for example, a wireless network 146 to providewireless service to the wireless device 123. Each carrier maintains anapplication programming interface (API) 149 to facilitate communicationwith outside entities who sell service plans 136 of the respectivecarrier. Specifically, once a service plan 126 associated with a givencarrier is sold, then the service initiation application 129communicates with the corresponding carrier server 109 through therespective API 149 in order to activate the service for the wirelessdevice 123 and to port a contact designation such as a telephone numberfrom a previous wireless device 123 to the recently purchased wirelessdevice 123 as will be described.

Next, a general description that provides one example of the operationof the various components of the networked environment 100 is provided.To begin, it is assumed that a customer has purchased a wireless device123 through the electronic commerce system 119 as described above. Inaddition, it is further assumed that the user has purchased a serviceplan 136 in order to provide for wireless communication through thewireless device 123. The service plan 136 may be provided by any one ofa number of different wireless carriers as can be appreciated.

During the order checkout process, the user is required to enter anyporting information for the wireless device 123 to be purchased. Theporting information may comprise, for example, the name of a currentwireless service provider for the old wireless device 123, an accountnumber associated with such service, the telephone number or othercontact designation to be ported, and the name of the customer whopurchased the service for the previous wireless device 123. In addition,there may be other information required from the user in the portinginformation.

It is understood that the porting information may vary depending uponthe carrier that provides wireless service to the previously ownedwireless device 123. For example, some carriers may require moreinformation, whereas others may require less. Thus, the portinginformation required to be entered by a user in order to port a contactdesignation to the newly purchased wireless device 123 may depend uponthe service provider of the service plan 136 applied to the previouslyowned wireless device 123.

When the porting information including a contact designation such as atelephone number is input, the electronic commerce system 119 mayperform a check to determine whether the contact designation can beported at all. That is to say that some contact designations such astelephone numbers cannot be ported for various reasons. As such, theuser is thus informed before the checkout process is complete whetherthey can use a prior contact designation with a new wireless device 123.

Once the purchase is consummated, the wireless service under the serviceplan 136 needs to be activated so that the wireless device 123 may beused for its purpose such as, for example, making telephone calls,sending and receiving wireless data communications, and otheractivities. In order to activate a wireless service, a service call maybe made to the carrier server 109 associated with the respectivewireless carrier through the API 149 presented by that carrier. Such aservice call is formatted according to the requirements of the API 149of the wireless carrier as can be appreciated. Once service isactivated, then typically the wireless device 123 may be employed tomake emergency calls such as those made through a “911” system. Thewireless device 123 may be afforded a temporary contact designation suchas a telephone number for use unless such telephone number is to be theprimary number for the wireless device 123.

Specifically, for example, if a customer already owns a wireless device123 and they wish to purchase a new wireless device 123 as areplacement, the customer may already have a contact designation such asa telephone number that they used in conjunction with the prior wirelessdevice 123 that they would like to continue to use with the new wirelessdevice 123. Alternatively, the user may not have previously owned awireless device 123 and may not actually have a contact designation touse. As such, the contact designation provided upon activation of thewireless device 123 may be designated as the primary contact designationto be used with such device as can be appreciated. In other embodiments,the wireless service upon activation may not provide for inboundcommunication to the wireless device 123 until the contact designationfrom the previously owned wireless device 123 is ported to the newlypurchased wireless device 123 as can be appreciated.

In order to employ a previously existing contact designation such as atelephone number with a newly purchased wireless device 123, the contactdesignation from the previously existing wireless device 123 needs to beported to the new wireless device 123. To do so, the service initiationapplication 129 may generate one or more network pages 126 in responseto requests from the browser application 143 or other application on theclient device 106 that are rendered on an appropriate display device 141of the client device 106 that facilitates a user input to indicate theirdesire to port the respective telephone number from their old wirelessdevice 123 to the new wireless device 123.

Upon receiving such information and an indication that the user wishesto port the contact designation to the new wireless device 123, theservice initiation application 129 as part of the electronic commercesystem 119 proceeds to send a message to the appropriate carrier server109 of the respective wireless carrier in accordance with the API 149specified by such wireless carrier in order to implement the porting ofthe contact designation to the new wireless device 123.

Upon receipt of such message, the wireless carrier then proceeds to takeaction to port the contact designation to the new wireless device 123.After this initial message is sent, then further messages may be sent bythe service initiation application 129 to verify whether the porting ofthe contact designation has been successfully implemented. Such requestsmay also conform with the API 149 specified by the respective wirelesscarrier.

According to various embodiments, there may be several differentapproaches taken for the activation of wireless service for a respectivewireless device 123 under a given service plan 136. For example, themerchant selling the wireless device 123 may activate the wirelessservice by having the service initiation application 129 send themessage to the carrier server 109 of the respective wireless carrier toactivate the wireless service before the wireless device 123 is shippedto a customer. In an additional alternative, such a message may be sentto cause the activation of the wireless service for the wireless device123 after a predefined period after the wireless device 123 has beenshipped to the customer. This would provide an allowance for time spentby the wireless device 123 in transit to the customer such that they arenot paying for wireless service before they actually receive thewireless device 123 or so that activation occurs in such time so as tominimize the time that the customer does not actually have the wirelessdevice 123 after activation.

In this manner, the activation of the wireless service for a givenwireless device 123 may be automatic. As an alternative, one or morenetwork pages 126 may be served up to the client device 106 associatedwith a respective customer that provides for a customer initiation ofthe activation of wireless service for one or more newly purchasedwireless devices 123. In this respect, such network pages 126 mayinclude various components that may be manipulated by a user causing amessage to be sent back to the service initiation application 129indicating that the user wishes for the wireless service to beactivated.

In addition, according to various embodiments, subsequent network pages126 may be generated by the service initiation application 129 at therequest of the client device 106 in order to port a contact designationto the newly purchased wireless device 123. In one embodiment, thenetwork page 126 may be served up with one or more components tofacilitate initiation of the porting of the contact designation to thenewly purchased wireless device 123 separately from any network pages126 that facilitate activation of the wireless service associated withthe wireless device 123. This advantageously allows a customer to causethe porting of the contact designation to the newly purchased wirelessdevice 123 at a time of their choosing.

In one embodiment, the porting of the contact designation as such isnoncontemporaneous with the activation of the wireless serviceassociated with the wireless device 123. That is to say, the activationdoes not occur during the same short period of time or at the same timeas the porting of the contact designation. Thus, the service initiationsystem is advantageously configured to accommodate a random delayimposed by the user between the activation of the wireless serviceassociated with the wireless device 123 and the porting of the contactdesignation previously used by the customer. This allows a user time toprogram contact information and potentially other information into thenew wireless device 123 from the old wireless device 123 as can beappreciated.

In still another embodiment, a network page 126 may be served up to acustomer that facilitates both activation of wireless service and theporting of a contact designation for a given wireless device 123 at thesame time. In such case, the customer is given the option of determiningwhen they would like to activate the service and port a contactdesignation based on their own requirements. This advantageously allowsa user to activate service and port a contact designation at the time oftheir choosing, thereby allowing the customer to transfer contactinformation and do any other needed functions before activating serviceand porting a telephone number.

With reference to FIG. 2, shown is one example of a network page 126(FIG. 1), denoted herein as network page 126 a, that is generated by theservice initiation application 129 (FIG. 1) of the electronic commercesystem 119 (FIG. 1) according to one embodiment. The network page 126 aincludes an activation component 203 associated with each wirelessdevice 123 purchased by a user. Also, the network page 126 a includes anorder summary 206 that lists particulars about a given order includinginformation about the customer, the logistical information for the order(e.g. addresses and payment), and information about detailed chargesrendered for the purchase of the respective wireless devices 123 andservice plans 136 associated therewith.

The order summary 206 also includes a statement of an incentive 209provided by the merchant for users both to activate the wireless serviceand to port a contact designation to their newly purchased wirelessdevices 123 through the network portal presented by the electroniccommerce system 119 and, specifically, the service initiationapplication 129. The incentive 209 may comprise a monetary incentivesuch as, for example, a refund of at least part of a price for thepurchase of one or more wireless devices 123. The incentive 209 may alsocomprise a reduction in the price of a service plan 136, or some otherbenefit as can be appreciated. According to one embodiment, the user mayredeem the incentives 209 by activating the wireless service and/or byporting a contact designation through the network portal provided by theelectronic commerce system 119 and the service initiation application129.

According to one embodiment, if a user manipulates the activatecomponent 203 with respect to a given wireless device 123, then anexecutable portion of the network page 126 a sends a message back to theservice initiation application 129 that causes the service initiationapplication 129 to initiate the activation of the wireless service forthe respective wireless device 123. In response, the service initiationapplication 129 proceeds to send an appropriate message to a givencarrier server 109 (FIG. 1) associated with a respective carrier throughthe specified API 149 (FIG. 1) in order to activate service for suchwireless device 123.

In addition, any incentives 209 may be applied to the account of theuser in the case that the redemption of such incentives 209 occurs uponactivation of the respective wireless device 123. Where more than onewireless device 123 is purchased, it may be the case that a user mustimplement the activation of the wireless service for all of the wirelessdevices 123 purchased before incentives 209 are redeemed. Thus, eachactivation component 203 is listed for each respective wireless device123 in order to activate the wireless service for such wireless devices123. Alternatively, a single activation component 203 may be associatedwith a whole group of wireless devices 123 and may correspondinglyprovide for the activation of all wireless devices 123 in the group.

According to one embodiment, the activation component 203 is apushbutton. Alternatively, the activation component 203 may comprisemany different types of graphical components that achieve its underlyingpurpose as can be appreciated.

Referring next to FIG. 3, shown is one example of a network page 126(FIG. 1), denoted herein as network page 126 b, according to anotherembodiment. The network page 126 b includes a portion that provides forthe porting of a contact designation for a previously existing wirelessdevice 123 to a newly purchased wireless device 123. To this end, thenetwork page 126 b includes porting components 233 that comprisepushbuttons or other graphical components that may be manipulated toinitiate the porting of a contact designation to the newly purchasedwireless device 123. Associated with each porting component 233 is alisting of a wireless device 123 recently purchased, where the portinginformation needed to port a contact designation for the wireless device123 was input by the user during checkout as mentioned above.

In order to port a contact designation to the newly purchased wirelessdevice 123, the user may manipulate the respective porting component233. This causes the network page 126 b to send a message to the serviceinitiation application 129 (FIG. 1). Such message comprises a request toinitiate the porting of the respective contact designation to the newlypurchased wireless device 123. Thereafter, the service initiationapplication 129 sends a message to the respective carrier server 109(FIG. 1) of the respective carrier in accordance with the API 149(FIG. 1) associated with such carrier requesting to implement theporting of the respective contact designation.

With reference to FIG. 4, shown is another example of a network page 126(FIG. 1), denoted herein as network page 126 c, according to anotherembodiment. The network page 126 c includes a portion that provides forboth the activation of wireless service and the porting of a contactdesignation from a previously existing wireless device 123 to a newlypurchased wireless device 123. To this end, the network page 126 cincludes activation and porting components 243 that comprise pushbuttonsor other graphical components that may be manipulated to initiate theactivation of wireless service and the porting of a contact designationto the newly purchased wireless device 123. Associated with eachactivation and porting component 243 is a listing of a wireless device123 recently purchased, where porting information needed to port acontact designation for the wireless device 123 was input by the userduring checkout as mentioned above.

The network page 126 c also includes the incentives 209 to entice acustomer to activate wireless service and port a contact designationthrough the electronic commerce system 119 that facilitates the purchaseof the wireless device 123. This ensures that the seller of the wirelessdevice 123 will get credit for the sale and any commissions for suchsale from the wireless service providers as can be appreciated.

In order to activate wireless service and port a contact designation tothe newly purchased wireless device 123, the user may manipulate therespective activation and porting component 243. This causes the networkpage 126 c to send a message to the service initiation application 129(FIG. 1). Such message comprises a request to initiate the activation ofwireless service and the porting of the respective contact designationto the newly purchased wireless device 123. Thereafter, the serviceinitiation application 129 sends a message to the respective carrierserver 109 (FIG. 1) of the respective carrier in accordance with the API149 (FIG. 1) associated with such carrier requesting activation ofwireless service and requesting the porting of the respective contactdesignation. In one embodiment, the network page 126 c advantageouslyplaces control of initiation of activation and porting into the hands ofthe customer who purchased the wireless device 123. Consequently, thecustomer is allowed to initiate the activation of the wireless serviceand the porting of the contact designation at a time of their choosing.

Also, this approach facilitates an initiation of the activation andporting at a time that is noncontemporaneous with respect to the actualtime of purchase of the wireless device 123 through the electroniccommerce system 119. As a result, customers advantageously maintaincontrol over when activation and porting occur in association with thepurchase of a new wireless device 123.

Referring next to FIG. 5, shown is a flowchart that provides one exampleof the operation of a portion of the service initiation application 129in activating a wireless service according to various embodiments. It isunderstood that the flowchart of FIG. 5 provides merely an example ofthe many different types of functional arrangements that may be employedto implement the operation of the depicted functionality of the serviceinitiation application 129 as described herein. As an alternative, theflowchart of FIG. 5 may be viewed as depicting an example of steps of amethod implemented in the computing device 103 (FIG. 1) according to oneor more embodiments.

To begin, it is assumed that one or more wireless devices 123 (FIG. 1)and service plans 136 (FIG. 1) have been purchased through theelectronic commerce system 119 (FIG. 1). It is understood that it ispossible that multiple wireless devices 123 may be purchased that alloperate under a single service plan 136. Assuming that the purchase iscompleted, then wireless service needs to be activated and any portingof a contact designation needs to be performed.

In box 303, the service initiation application 129 waits for anactivation event to occur. An activation event comprises an event thatindicates that the wireless service associated with one or more wirelessdevices 123 is to be activated as described above. An activation eventmay occur, for example, upon detection of a shipping of the device, upondetection of the passing of a predefined period of time after a wirelessdevice 123 has been shipped, or upon a detection that a user hasmanipulated an activation component 203 (FIG. 2) in order to implementthe activation of the wireless service for a respective wireless device123 as mentioned above. Alternatively, activation events may comprise anoccurrence of some other event.

Assuming that an activation event has been detected in box 306, then theservice initiation application 129 proceeds to box 306 in order togenerate a message to send to a respective carrier server 109 (FIG. 1)to activate service for a respective wireless device 123. The serviceinitiation application 129 may receive an acknowledgement from thecarrier. Also, the service initiation application 129 may receiveconfirmations from the carrier indicating that the activation of thewireless service for one or more wireless devices 123 has beencompleted.

Referring next to FIG. 6, shown is a flowchart that provides one exampleof the operation of a portion of the service initiation application 129in porting a contact designation such as a telephone number according tovarious embodiments. It is understood that the flowchart of FIG. 6provides merely an example of the many different types of functionalarrangements that may be employed to implement the operation of thedepicted functionality of the service initiation application 129 asdescribed herein. As an alternative, the flowchart of FIG. 6 may beviewed as depicting an example of steps of a method implemented in thecomputing device 103 (FIG. 1) according to one or more embodiments.

To begin, in order to port a contact designation such as a telephonenumber to a newly purchased wireless device 123 (FIG. 1), in box 333 theservice initiation application 129 generates and serves up the networkpage 126 b (FIG. 3) to present the porting component 233 (FIG. 3) inorder to initiate the porting of the contact designation. Thereafter, inbox 336 the service initiation application 129 determines whether theporting of the contact designation is to be initiated. This isdetermined by detecting that the porting component 233 has beenmanipulated such that a message was received from the respective clientdevice 106 (FIG. 1) as mentioned above. Assuming that the porting of thecontact designation is to proceed, then in box 339, the serviceinitiation application 129 may apply any particular incentive 209 (FIG.2) to be applied to a user account if applicable. Alternatively, box 339may not exist where incentives 209 are not applied.

Thereafter, in box 343 the service initiation application 129 generatesa message to send to a respective carrier to implement the porting ofthe contact designation for the wireless device 123. Such messageincludes the porting information as described above. Then, in box 346,the service initiation application 129 implements a delay beforedetermining whether the porting was successful. Then, in box 349, theservice initiation application 129 sends a status request to therespective carrier to determine whether the porting was successful. Inbox 353, if the porting was successful, then the service initiationapplication 129 proceeds to box 356. Otherwise, it reverts back to box346 as described above.

In box 346, the service initiation application 129 may implement aconfirmation protocol to inform the user that the porting of the contactdesignation for the respective wireless device 123 was successful. Thismay comprise, for example, making an automated call to the wirelessdevice 123 associated with the user, sending an email to an appropriateemail address designated by the customer, or taking some other action ascan be appreciated. Thereafter, this portion of the service initiationapplication 129 ends.

By virtue of the approach employed to activate a wireless service andport a contact designation separately as described above, the customermaintains control of the implementation of the wireless service and theporting of a contact designation so that they can transfer anyinformation from an obsolete wireless device 123 and potentially performother tasks before the new wireless device 123 is ready to use.

Referring next to FIG. 7, shown is a flowchart that provides one exampleof the operation of a portion of the service initiation application 129in both activating wireless service and porting a contact designationsuch as a telephone number according to various embodiments. It isunderstood that the flowchart of FIG. 7 provides merely an example ofthe many different types of functional arrangements that may be employedto implement the operation of the depicted functionality of the serviceinitiation application 129 as described herein. As an alternative, theflowchart of FIG. 7 may be viewed as depicting an example of steps of amethod implemented in the computing device 103 (FIG. 1) according to oneor more embodiments.

To begin, in order to both activate a wireless service and port acontact designation such as a telephone number to a newly purchasedwireless device 123 (FIG. 1), in box 363 the service initiationapplication 129 generates and serves up the network page 126 c (FIG. 4)to present the porting component 243 (FIG. 4) in order to initiate theactivation of wireless service and the porting of the contactdesignation. Thereafter, in box 366, the service initiation application129 determines whether the activation and porting are to be initiated.This is determined by detecting whether the porting component 243 hasbeen manipulated such that a message was received from the respectiveclient device 106 (FIG. 1) as mentioned above. Assuming that theactivation and porting are to proceed, then in box 369, the serviceinitiation application 129 may apply any particular incentive 209 (FIG.2) to be applied to a user account if applicable to entice the user toimplement activation and porting through the electronic commerce system119. Alternatively, box 369 may not exist where incentives 209 are notapplied.

Thereafter, in box 373 the service initiation application 129 generatesa message to send to a respective carrier to both implement theactivation of wireless service and the porting of the contactdesignation for the wireless device 123. Such message may include anyneeded information about the wireless device 123 and the portinginformation. Then, in box 376, the service initiation application 129implements a delay before determining whether the activation and portingwere successful. Then, in box 379, the service initiation application129 sends a status request to the respective carrier to determinewhether the activation and porting were successful. In box 383, if theactivation and porting were successful, then the service initiationapplication 129 proceeds to box 386. Otherwise, it reverts back to box376 as described above.

In box 386, the service initiation application 129 may implement aconfirmation protocol to inform the user that the activation and portingof the contact designation for the respective wireless device 123 weresuccessful. This may comprise, for example, making an automated call tothe wireless device 123 associated with the user, sending an email to anappropriate email address designated by the customer, or taking someother action as can be appreciated. Thereafter, this portion of theservice initiation application 129 ends.

By virtue of the approach employed to activate a wireless service andport a contact designation separately as described above, the customermaintains control of the implementation of the wireless service and theporting of a contact designation so that they can transfer anyinformation from an obsolete wireless device 123 and potentially performother tasks before the new wireless device 123 is ready to use.

With reference to FIG. 8, shown is a schematic block diagram of thecomputing device 103 according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. The computing device 103 includes at least one processorcircuit, for example, having a processor 403 and a memory 406, both ofwhich are coupled to a local interface 409. To this end, the computingdevice 103 may comprise, for example, at least one server computer orlike device. The local interface 409 may comprise, for example, a databus with an accompanying address/control bus or other bus structure ascan be appreciated.

Stored in the memory 406 are both data and several components that areexecutable by the processor 403. In particular, stored in the memory 406and executable by the processor 403 are the electronic commerce system119, including the service initiation application 129 (FIG. 1), andpotentially other applications. Also stored in the memory 406 may be adata store 116 and other data. In addition, an operating system may bestored in the memory 406 and executable by the processor 403.

It is understood that there may be other applications that are stored inthe memory 406 and are executable by the processors 403 as can beappreciated. Where any component discussed herein is implemented in theform of software, any one of a number of programming languages may beemployed such as, for example, C, C++, C#, Objective C, Java, JavaScript, Perl, PHP, Visual Basic, Python, Ruby, Delphi, Flash, or otherprogramming languages.

A number of software components are stored in the memory 406 and areexecutable by the processor 403. In this respect, the term “executable”means a program file that is in a form that can ultimately be run by theprocessor 403. Examples of executable programs may be, for example, acompiled program that can be translated into machine code in a formatthat can be loaded into a random access portion of the memory 406 andrun by the processor 403, source code that may be expressed in properformat such as object code that is capable of being loaded into a randomaccess portion of the memory 406 and executed by the processor 403, orsource code that may be interpreted by another executable program togenerate instructions in a random access portion of the memory 406 to beexecuted by the processor 403, etc. An executable program may be storedin any portion or component of the memory 406 including, for example,random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), hard drive,solid-state drive, USB flash drive, memory card, optical disc such ascompact disc (CD) or digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, magnetictape, or other memory components.

The memory 406 is defined herein as including both volatile andnonvolatile memory and data storage components. Volatile components arethose that do not retain data values upon loss of power. Nonvolatilecomponents are those that retain data upon a loss of power. Thus, thememory 406 may comprise, for example, random access memory (RAM),read-only memory (ROM), hard disk drives, solid-state drives, USB flashdrives, memory cards accessed via a memory card reader, floppy disksaccessed via an associated floppy disk drive, optical discs accessed viaan optical disc drive, magnetic tapes accessed via an appropriate tapedrive, and/or other memory components, or a combination of any two ormore of these memory components. In addition, the RAM may comprise, forexample, static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random accessmemory (DRAM), or magnetic random access memory (MRAM) and other suchdevices. The ROM may comprise, for example, a programmable read-onlymemory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), anelectrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or otherlike memory device.

Also, the processor 403 may represent multiple processors 403 and thememory 406 may represent multiple memories 406 that operate in parallelprocessing circuits, respectively. In such a case, the local interface409 may be an appropriate network that facilitates communication betweenany two of the multiple processors 403, between any processor 403 andany of the memories 406, or between any two of the memories 406, etc.The local interface 409 may comprise additional systems designed tocoordinate this communication, including, for example, performing loadbalancing. The processor 403 may be of electrical or of some otheravailable construction.

Although the electronic commerce system 119, and more specifically, theservice initiation application 129, and other various systems describedherein may be embodied in software or code executed by general purposehardware as discussed above, as an alternative the same may also beembodied in dedicated hardware or a combination of software/generalpurpose hardware and dedicated hardware. If embodied in dedicatedhardware, each can be implemented as a circuit or state machine thatemploys any one of or a combination of a number of technologies. Thesetechnologies may include, but are not limited to, discrete logiccircuits having logic gates for implementing various logic functionsupon an application of one or more data signals, application specificintegrated circuits having appropriate logic gates, or other components,etc. Such technologies are generally well known by those skilled in theart and, consequently, are not described in detail herein.

The flowcharts of FIGS. 5, 6, and 7 show the functionality and operationof an implementation of portions of the service initiation application129. If embodied in software, each block may represent a module,segment, or portion of code that comprises program instructions toimplement the specified logical function(s). The program instructionsmay be embodied in the form of source code that comprises human-readablestatements written in a programming language or machine code thatcomprises numerical instructions recognizable by a suitable executionsystem such as a processor 403 in a computer system or other system. Themachine code may be converted from the source code, etc. If embodied inhardware, each block may represent a circuit or a number ofinterconnected circuits to implement the specified logical function(s).

Although the flowcharts of FIGS. 5, 6, and 7 show a specific order ofexecution, it is understood that the order of execution may differ fromthat which is depicted. For example, the order of execution of two ormore blocks may be scrambled relative to the order shown. Also, two ormore blocks shown in succession in FIGS. 5, 6, and 7 may be executedconcurrently or with partial concurrence. Further, in some embodiments,one or more of the blocks shown in FIGS. 5, 6, and 7 may be skipped oromitted. In addition, any number of counters, state variables, warningsemaphores, or messages might be added to the logical flow describedherein, for purposes of enhanced utility, accounting, performancemeasurement, or providing troubleshooting aids, etc. It is understoodthat all such variations are within the scope of the present disclosure.

Also, any logic or application described herein, including theelectronic commerce system 119, and more specifically, the serviceinitiation application 129, that comprises software or code can beembodied in any non-transitory computer-readable medium for use by or inconnection with an instruction execution system such as, for example, aprocessor 403 in a computer system or other system. In this sense, thelogic may comprise, for example, statements including instructions anddeclarations that can be fetched from the computer-readable medium andexecuted by the instruction execution system. In the context of thepresent disclosure, a “computer-readable medium” can be any medium thatcan contain, store, or maintain the logic or application describedherein for use by or in connection with the instruction executionsystem. The computer-readable medium can comprise any one of manyphysical media such as, for example, electronic, magnetic, optical,electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor media. More specificexamples of a suitable computer-readable medium would include, but arenot limited to, magnetic tapes, magnetic floppy diskettes, magnetic harddrives, memory cards, solid-state drives, USB flash drives, or opticaldiscs. Also, the computer-readable medium may be a random access memory(RAM) including, for example, static random access memory (SRAM) anddynamic random access memory (DRAM), or magnetic random access memory(MRAM). In addition, the computer-readable medium may be a read-onlymemory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EEPROM), or other type of memory device.

It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of thepresent disclosure are merely possible examples of implementations setforth for a clear understanding of the principles of the disclosure.Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-describedembodiment(s) without departing substantially from the spirit andprinciples of the disclosure. All such modifications and variations areintended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure andprotected by the following claims.

Therefore, the following is claimed:
 1. A non-transitorycomputer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that,when executed by one or more computer systems, configure the one or morecomputer systems to perform operations comprising: facilitatingacquisition of a first wireless device and a wireless service associatedwith the first wireless device by a user utilizing a user-computingdevice; communicating with a service provider system over a network toactivate the wireless service associated with the first wireless device;responsive to receiving a command from the user-computing device,initiating assignment of a contact designation associated with a secondwireless device to the first wireless device; and imposing auser-defined delay between an activation of the wireless service and theassignment of the contact designation associated with the secondwireless device.
 2. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim1, wherein the assignment of the contact designation isnon-contemporaneous with the activation of the wireless serviceassociated with the first wireless device.
 3. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the contact designationcomprises a telephone number.
 4. A system comprising: a data storeconfigured to store at least account data of a user, wherein the user isassociated with a first wireless device; and a computing device incommunication with the data store, the computing device configured to atleast: facilitate, via a network, purchase of the first wireless deviceand a wireless service associated with the first wireless device by theuser utilizing a user-computing device; communicate, via the network,with a service provider system to activate the wireless serviceassociated with the first wireless device; and responsive to receiving auser command, initiate assignment of a contact designation associatedwith a second wireless device to the first wireless device.
 5. Thesystem of claim 4, wherein the computing device is further configured toimpose a user-defined delay between an activation of the wirelessservice associated with the first wireless device and the assignment ofthe contact designation associated with the second wireless device. 6.The system of claim 4, wherein the assignment of the contact designationis non-contemporaneous with the activation of the wireless serviceassociated with the first wireless device.
 7. The system of claim 4,wherein the contact designation comprises a telephone number.
 8. Thesystem of claim 4, wherein the computing device is configured tocommunicate with the service provider system responsive to receivingconfirmation of occurrence of an activation event.
 9. The system ofclaim 8, wherein the activation event comprises at least one ofdetection of shipment of the first wireless device to the user;detection of expiration of a predefined period of time after theshipment of the first wireless device to the user; or detection that anactivation component has been manipulated by the user.
 10. The system ofclaim 8, wherein the confirmation of occurrence of an activation eventis initiated by the user.
 11. The system of claim 8, wherein thecomputing device serves a network page to the user-computing device, thenetwork page having one or more components to facilitate sending theuser command from the user-computing device.
 12. A computer-implementedmethod comprising: facilitating, via a network, purchase of a firstwireless device and a wireless service associated with the firstwireless device by a user utilizing a user-computing device;communicating with a service provider system to activate the wirelessservice associated with the first wireless device; and responsive toreceiving a command from the user-computing device, initiatingassignment of a contact designation associated with a second wirelessdevice to the first wireless device.
 13. The computer-implemented methodof claim 12, further comprising imposing a user-defined delay between anactivation of the wireless service associated with the first wirelessdevice and the assignment of the contact designation associated with thesecond wireless device.
 14. The computer-implemented method of claim 12,wherein the assignment of the contact designation is non-contemporaneouswith the activation of the wireless service associated with the firstwireless device.
 15. The computer-implemented method of claim 12,wherein the contact designation comprises a telephone number.
 16. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein the communication withthe service provider system is responsive to receiving confirmation ofoccurrence of an activation event.
 17. The computer-implemented methodof claim 16, wherein the confirmation of occurrence of the activationevent is initiated by the user.
 18. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 16, wherein the activation event comprises at least one of:detection of shipment of the first wireless device to the user;detection of expiration of a predefined period of time after theshipment of the first wireless device to the user; or detection that anactivation component of a network page has been manipulated by the user.19. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, further comprisingserving a network page with a component to facilitate sending the usercommand from the user-computing device.
 20. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 19, wherein the network page is served separately froman additional network page that facilitates activation of the wirelessservice associated with the first wireless device.